I know something is wrong but no idea what!

[AmyFarrahFowler]

DD is 23weeks and is ebf. She has never slept through the night, but was going from 7pm through til about 3.30am each night, feeding then sleeping til 7am so we were all getting on fine.

Just the last 3 weeks or so I've started to watch what I eat (have a lot of baby weight to lose), no crash diet or anything, just lots more fruit/veg, no choc, no crap basically.

I'm worried because DD now is waking at least twice more each night and seems very unsettled (hungry?) from about 3pm each afternoon. Today she has been awful. not settling for any naps and being inconsolable from 3ish onwards.

I feel like the feeds she has in the afternoon are very quick and she seems to find them frustrating, I worry she isn't getting enough.

Will my diet be affecting my supply? I researched on here before starting, everyone said as long as I wasn't literally starving it wouldn't effect my supply but now I'm so worried I've ruined it.
I want to feed her for months and months yet, really didn't want to stop at only 5 months but I need to get more sleep I can't do another few weeks like this. I feel guilty, I have prioritised my need to lose weight over her need for milk and feel so mean.

So, have I ruined it? Is it just a growth spurt? Is it teething? Do I need to give her foods? Do I need to admit defeat and give formula? Will I ever sleep again????????

I need to go and get her weighed but I can't go this week because we have something on that can't be cancelled so don't know if she is gaining ok, she is normally 50th centile dead on.

[MoonUnitAlpha]

I really doubt eating healthily is going to affect your supply!

But I guess it could be any of the things you mention - growth spurt/teething. Do you think she might be ready to start solids though?

[cece]

23 weeks is very near the weaning age isn't it? Maybe she is having a growth spurt. Why not just bring her into bed with you and she can feed while you are asleep?

[JetLi]

Could any of this ring a bell with you AFF?
Your change in diet is very unlikely to affect your supply. Are her nappies any different to normal? I had a distractible baby so from about 5months-ish I needed to use feeding rooms, or lie on the bed out of the way to get her to concentrate on feeding in the daytime. Once I got more into her during the day, that helped with the nightimes.

[PacificDogwood]

Google 'sleep regression' - v enlightening IMO.

No, healthy eating will categorically NOT have affected your supply. Much more likely to be growth spurt/teeth/life becoming more interesting/phase of the moon .

If she is sitting unaided, has lost her tongue thrust reflex, seems to want food ie grabs it off your plate, you could try a bit of baby rice - 23 wks is very young though (current WHO recommendation is 26 weeks/6 completed months). IME what they eat and drink has very little to do with how well they sleep or how settled they are.

[AmyFarrahFowler]

JetLi I thought maybe thats what was happening though I didn't know it had a name. The problem is that I have no hope of feeding her in peace and quiet because I have my 21 month at home with us too.

Pacific what makes me think its food related is that she is waking up so hungry, I feel like she must need more, more more if you know what I mean.
She can't sit unaided yet, has not lost her tongue thrust reflex, and whilst interested in us eating I think she'd be interested in me doing the ironing just as much!

I just don't know what to do, I feel like there is an unending run of misery waiting for me, just getting more and more tired!!

[AngelDog]

Agree with PacificDogwood - not settling for naps and waking more at night can be due to developmental spurts - there's one at around 26 weeks. They mess up sleep / naps / behaviour / mood / eating patterns in the weeks before the spurt (different babies are affected differently).

There is a great book explaining it called The Wonder Weeks by two scientists who researched all the developmental spurts up to 13 months.

There can go hand-in-hand with growth spurts too, I think - milk provides the energy for all the brain activity going on.

My DS had an unsettled patch at this point, and wouldn't really nap unless fed to sleep and then staying on my lap.

The inconsolable afternoons could be related to overtiredness if she's not been napping well. It's a common problem with developmental spurts, but one that tends to disappear on its own IME.

[AmyFarrahFowler]

So if its a developmental spurt how long is it likely to last because I can't keep this up much longer. Every night is getting worse.

Starting to think there must be something wrong with my supply because otherwise she couldn't be this hungry. Never had anything quite like this with DD1.

Its been going on for a couple of weeks now and I'm on my knees, she has woken twice this evening so far so it doesn't bode well for tonight.

[organiccarrotcake]

Sooo exhausting but it really does sound like the normal sleep regression time. Just starting it ourselves with DS2 and had nothing like it with DS1. If she's swallowing when feeding then she IS that hungry and your supply is fine as otherwise she'd have nothing to swallow.

Can you express and have your OH take a turn so you can get a period of unbroken sleep?